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Glossary

Glossary of terms

If you are new to the University or have been here for a while, you may have wondered - what does that mean?

This glossary contains definitions of University of Reading and general higher education, terms phrases, abbreviations and acronyms that might need more explanation.

If you come across a term, not listed here that is not clear to you, ask us a question.

    New Starter

    Apps Anywhere

     

     

    Access to curriculum software such as ArcGIS, EndNote, Matlab, Mendeley, Nvivo, SPSS and Stata wherever you are

    Ask a Question

     

     

     

    Blackboard

    Our virtual learning environment, where you will access teaching and assessment information for your modules

     

    Campus Jobs

     

    Campus Jobs is the University’s centralised service providing part-time work opportunities across the Reading campuses working in the bars, catering, at the Open Days/in your department

     

    Commuter student

     

    A student who lives off campus and commutes several times a week to undertake their studies

     

    Digital Technology Services (DTS)

     

    IT support online and in-person throughout your study years.

     

     

    Disability Advisory Service (DAS )

     

    A dedicated team offering advice and guidance to students with any disability, mental health condition or specific learning difficulty

     

    Enrolment

     

     

    Formal process of joining the University and your course for the forthcoming academic year.

     

    Essentials

     

     

    Student website covering all aspects of student life

    Graduation

     

    The formal event at which a student who has successfully completed a course of study receives a certificate

    IT Service Desk

    IT help is available from the IT Service Desk located on the first floor of the library. Support is available for all your IT needs, including connecting to wi-fi, accessing software, setting up your email, calendar and Microsoft Teams

    Laptop loan service

     

    Short term laptop loan service in the Library

    O365

     

     

    Microsoft office application suit, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook and 50GB OneDrive storage – free to all students - Login to O365

    Part 0, 1, 2 or 3

     

    The part refers to your year of study - First year / second year / third year of an undergraduate degree

    Eduroam

     

    The University’s wi-fi network

     

    Essentials

     

    Student website covering every aspect of student life. Useful throughout your study years

     

    Hall Wardens

    The Wardens are members of University staff who live in hall and are there to offer help and support on any matters of concern. They have considerable experience and are an excellent source of advice and support on any academic or personal matter. To get in touch with your Warden, please call the Halls Hotline on 0800 029 1984.

     

    Me@Reading

     

     

    Your personalised news feed and portal

    Professional Placement Year (PPY)

     

    Also known as ‘industrial year’ or ‘year in industry’. They all refer to completing a year of work as part of your degree between your second and final year of undergraduate study.

    Reading Students’ Union

     

     

    The union exists to represent, support and promote opportunities to all.

    As a student, you are automatically a member of the union, and entitled to have a say in directing the organisation. Reading Students' Union runs annual elections.

     

    RISIS

     

    The RISIS portal is home to your student records, where you can store and update personal information, select modules, see your timetable and marks, contact the Student Support Centre with a question, and much more!

     

    Student’s Union Advice Service

     

     

    Independent support service for all students – get advice

    Student Services

     

     

    Support on Finance, accommodation, Welfare, Careers, Study, International and disability advice all under one roof in the Carrington Building, see services.

     

    The UoR Student app

     

    Official app for current students – bringing together all essential information, helping you to stay organised, informed and connected. Details of Welcome Week activities will appear on the Welcome App

     

    Welcome app

     

     

    Official app for new students - Download the welcome app before you arrive (no login required). Use the app to build a schedule for your first week.

    Welcome week

     

     

    Your first week as a student. A time for your arrival and introduction to student and academic life. It’s important you prioritising attending your school introduction talks and compulsory halls welcome, and then fit in as many other activities you can manage – full details of academic and student life events taking place during welcome week can be viewed in the welcome app.

     


    Academic

    15-Day Turnaround

    A commitment to provide you with marks and feedback on your coursework no later than 15 working days after the deadline (if it was handed in on time) – note that working days do not include weekends and days that the University is closed

    Academic Engagement

    Expectations for attendance and engagement in your course. Details of the University's expectations and the approach to the management of student attendance and engagement are set out in theAttendance Management and Engagement Policy

     

    Academic Tutor

     

    A member of teaching staff who supports your academic, personal, and professional development. The first point of contact for all questions relating to your programme of study. First meeting takes place in Welcome Week

     

    Academic Year

     

    Each academic year runs from September to June and is made up of two teaching terms (September-December and January-March) and an examination term

     

    Assessment Handbook

     

    The Assessment Handbook presents the University's assessment policies and procedures topic-by-topic, following the broad sequence of the assessment process

     

    Bachelors Degree

     

    Undergraduate degrees in the School of Politics, Economics and International Relations will be classified as either a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or a Bachelor of Science (BSc)

     

    Board of Studies and Student Experience (BoSSE)

     

    A committee consisting of academics and elected student representatives from each Department. The Committee discusses student experience within each degree programme and meets termly.

    Contact Hours

     

    Time with academics or other teaching staff

    Course Rep

     

    An elected student representative for your Part or degree programme (elections arranged by Reading Students’ Union)

     

    Coursework

    Written or practical work completed during your course and assessed in order to count towards the final mark or grade

     

    Curriculum

     

    The topics taught as part of your individual modules

    Department

     

    Within each school of study there are distinct departments

    Deadline

     

    Date on which an assignment is due to be handed in (usually 12 noon on this date but please check individual assessment guidelines in your module handbook). Sometimes referred to as a submission point

     

    Department Director of Academic Tutoring (DDAT)

     

    A dedicated member of staff for each Department who assists the School Director of Academic Tutoring (SDTL) and oversees Exceptional Circumstances (EC) requests

    Dissertation

    An extended essay on a subject chosen by a student. Dissertations are completed in the final year of an undergraduate degree. See our modules PO3DIS for Politics students or EC3DIS for Economics students

     

    Doctorate or PhD

    This is an academic or professional degree that, in most countries, qualifies the degree holder to teach their chosen subject at university level or to work in a specialised position in their chosen field

     

    Essay

    A piece of academic writing on a particular subject, completed to a specified wordcount

     

    Exceptional Circumstances (EC/ECF )

     

    Situations or difficulties outside a student’s control that negatively impact academic performance, and which may result in adjustments to assessments

     

    Feedback and Consultation Hours (F&C)

     

    Time set aside each week by academics for students to ask questions, seek guidance and clarify understanding. Set times are printed on staff office doors

    Formative assessment

     

    Work that you may be given in order to evaluate and develop your understanding of a topic, but which will not count towards your final grade for the module

     

    Grade

     

    A mark indicating the quality of your work on a scale of 0-100. Section 10 of the Assessment Handbook provides further information. See also “Marking Rubric”

     

    Guided Independent study (GIS)

     

    The time students spend studying learning material in their own time, as required for each module

    Handbook

     

    Each module has its own handbook which sets out the full requirements of the teaching and learning, including assessment requirements and submission dates. Course handbooks are available to view

     

    Head of Department (HoD)

     

    Academic with overall responsibility for the Department, its strategy and staff. on Blackboard

    Head of School (HoS)

    Academic with overall responsibility for the School, its strategy and staff

     

    In Class Presentation

    A form of assessment requiring students to present their ideas to their peers. This can be as an individual or as a group and will vary between modules

     

    Late Penalty

     

    An assignment submitted after the deadline may be subject to late penalty marks. Full details available in this policy

    Learner Responsibilities

     

    Guidelines to help students understand their responsibility to comply with the rules and regulations while studying at the University of Reading

    Lecture

     

    Academic talk on a given subject delivered to a class of students

    Life Tools

     

    The Life Tools programme is a series of free talks designed by experts to help you transition into university life and enhance your student experience. The programme allows you to be proactive and take control of your learning and your personal and professional development

     

    Marking Rubric

    A scoring guide used to evaluate the quality of students’ assessments. See also “Grade”

     

    Masters Degree

    Qualification undertaken after completing an undergraduate degree, demonstrating mastery of a specific field of study

    Microsoft Teams

     

    Chat, collaborate and meet virtually on Teams, part of the o365 suite free to students

    Moderation

     

    The process whereby a second member of staff oversees the process of marking of coursework and examination papers

    Module

     

    A unit of learning. There are 120 credits taken in each year of study in an undergraduate programme and each module is typically 10 or 20 credits. The exception is a Dissertation which may be more than 20 credits. At postgraduate level, students are required to take 180 credits, including the dissertation

     

    Module Code

     

    Unique code assigned to modules – see codes by school.

     

    Module Description

     

    MDF The outline details of a module, setting out the syllabus, teaching methods, contact hours, guided independent study hours, and assessment arrangements. The process of selecting your optional modules. In Part 1 this takes place during Welcome. In Parts 2 and 3 this takes place at the end of the spring term

     

    Module Selection

     

    If you are an undergraduate or postgraduate taught student and your course offers optional modules, you will be required to select these online each year.

    Module selection and takes place in September for new students and at mid April, for returning students. Look out for our emails advising you on the process.

     

    Plagiarism

     

    the act of presenting someone else's work or idea as your own, by incorporating it into work without full acknowledgement. The University’s Academic Misconduct Policy outlines the penalties which can be applied

     

    Post-Results Exceptional Circumstances PREC

     

    Possibility to submit an ECF after knowing the results - to be used for final exams organised at university level only (usually around May-June)

    Portfolio Review

     

     

     

    Pre-requisite

    Some modules require students to have studied certain other modules to ensure the correct level of prior learning. These required modules are called pre-requisites and are detailed in the Module Description (MDF).

     

     

     

     

     

    Programme

     

    Your degree course (for example BSc Economics, BA Politics and International Relations) Programme Handbook

    Programme handbooks

    provide specific information on the School and how it supports its degree programmes, acting as a guide to the programme, providing students with advice on how to get the best out of their studies and about the programme structure and content.

     

    Programme Specification

     

    The structure of a programme of study, setting out compulsory modules, programme learning outcomes, and the rules to enable progression to the next year of study. These are all available to view on the website.

     

    Programme Director

     

    Member of staff responsible for the design and development of a particular degree, often a good source of advice about options and career paths for their given specialism.

     

    Progression Requirements

     

    The criteria which students need to satisfy to pass one year of study and enable progression to the next year of study. Full details are available in the Programme Specification for the year of entry onto the programme.

     

    RISIS

     

    The RISIS portal is home to your student records, where you can store and update personal information, select modules, see your timetable and marks, contact the Student Support Centre with a question, and much more!

     

    Reading University Students’ Union

     

    Provides social events and venues, volunteering opportunities, a range of clubs and societies and much more. Also offers a specialist Student Advice Team for advice on various issues, including academic, financial and welfare.

    Research Seminar

     

    A series of term time weekly seminars for staff/students with presentations by both internal and external speakers.

    School of Philosophy, Politics and Economics SPPE

     

    The Department of Economics, the Department of Philosophy the Department of Politics together form SPPE

    School Rep

     

    An elected student representative for the School with oversight of the course representatives. Elections are arranged by Reading Students' Union.

    School Director of Academic Tutoring SDAT

     

    Academic member of staff who works alongside the Department Directors of Academic Tutoring (DDATs) to oversee the Academic Tutor system and Exceptional Circumstances process

    Scholarship

    An amount of money that is awarded by the University to a student in full/partial payment of fees

     

    School Director of Teaching and Learning SDTL

    Academic member of staff responsible for teaching and learning within the School and investigating cases of academic engagement and suspected academic misconduct

     

    Self-Certification

     

    You are permitted on two occasions in the course of an academic year to submit an EC request for a two-day extension for some assessments without providing evidence. Full details are outlined in the Policy on and procedures relating to exceptional circumstances

     

    Seminar

     

    Timetabled teaching session involving small group discussion. Topic often relates to preceding lecture and is a student’s opportunity to engage with the learning material and share ideas/collaborate with peers.

     

    STAR Mentors

     

     

    STaR Mentors are current students that have been trained to help new students with their start at Reading. Mentors contact new students by email before they start and in person during the first term.

     

    Student Progress Dashboard

     

    The dashboard will display your completed and outstanding assessments, what your progress looks like and how this attainment compares to the goals that you can (optionally) set for yourself in your current Part and academic year. Access is via RISIS

     

    Student Support Co-ordinators

     

    SSC Provide support/advice on academic matters affecting students and their studies. These staff are based in the Support Centre in the Edith Morley building

     

    Student-Staff Partnership Group (SSPG )

     

    A group consisting of course reps and academics who meet once a term to discuss matters relating to student experience

    Student Welfare

     

    A dedicated team who are there to help you with a wide variety of issues, from challenges due to settling in and adjusting to University life, difficulty with flatmates, crisis support, concerns for a friend, and much more, including if you don’t know who else to ask! The Welfare team is a good first point of contact. They will know where to redirect you if they can’t help directly

     

    Study Space Rooms

     

    set aside for quiet study on the third floor in Edith Morley Building (Rooms 305/305a and 306). Further space available in the library – see Study Space Summative assessment Work that you will be set, with a deadline, that contributes to your overall module result

     

    Summer Placement

     

    An extracurricular period of work experience completed over the summer. A great opportunity to build your skills and employability

    Suspension

     

    The University supports students who wish to take time away from their programme if it is for compelling reasons such as ill health, pregnancy, employment opportunities, financial issues, etc. This is known as suspension and the University has a policy on this

     

    Timetable

     

    A student’s timetable will detail times and location of all taught sessions, as well as some central activities, ie Careers events. Welcome Week events are not timetable

     

    Transcript

     

    An academic transcript is an official document that shows units taken in each year of study, assessment grades for each unit, total number of credits gained in each unit taken and in each year of study, as well as degree awarded, degree classification and date of award

     

    Turnitin

     

    Software system which advises of similarity between assessment submissions

    Tutorial

     

    Small group class

    Week 6

     

    A week off from normal timetabled lectures


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